Hacker, Rui Pinto who exposed Manchester City’s corruption in premier league facing ‘dire consequences’ – Lawyers

Computer hacker, Rui Pinto, the mastermind behind the Football Leaks website that helped spark the Premier League's financial investigation into Manchester City, faces severe security risks after Portuguese authorities revoked his protected witness status, according to his legal representation.

In a joint statement released on Friday, October 2, Pinto's Portuguese attorneys, Francisco and Luisa Teixeira da Mota, alongside French representatives William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth, announced that their client was formally notified on Wednesday that his specialized security program, active since August 2020, will terminate on October 10.

“In a few days, without having been given a prior hearing as required by law, he would lose the secure, confidential housing assigned to him and be forced to find a new home urgently, with no guarantee that police protection would be maintained,” the legal team stated, describing the administrative action as a decision carrying immediate and perilous consequences.

Highlighting that threats against the whistleblower remain active, pointing to a physical assault in Lisbon last April and ongoing legal proceedings involving powerful figures, his lawyers warned that terminating his housing and secure status plunges him into extreme vulnerability.

The 37-year-old self-taught computer expert has operated under witness protection since cooperating with Portuguese authorities following his January 2019 arrest in Hungary and subsequent extradition.

After spending over a year in pre-trial detention, Pinto provided investigators with access to millions of encrypted documents he began publishing in 2015.

The trove of data, distributed via a consortium of European media organizations, exposed widespread financial irregularities, tax evasion, and questionable practices among elite football clubs, players, and agents, laying the groundwork for international investigations.

Although a Portuguese court handed Pinto a suspended four-year sentence in September 2023 after convictions for attempted extortion, data access violations, and breaches of correspondence, his ongoing cooperation across multiple European jurisdictions has left him exposed to persistent security threats.